Glass annealing leer with insulated tunnel



Patented Oct. 13, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALAN W. RUSSELL, O1 WORCESTER, MASSACHUCETTS, AND HAROLD A. WADMAN, OF

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ABSIGNOBB TO HARTFORD-EMPIRE COMPANY, 01 HART- FORD, CONNECTICUT, A: CORPORATION 01' DELAWARE GLASS ANNEALING LEEB WITH INSULATED TUNNEL Application filed December 14,1987. Serial Io. 889,874.

This invention relates to leers for annealin glassware, and more s ecifically to struct ra features thereof which improve the heat insulation of such leers.

Heat conservation is of prime importance in the operation of leers, especially in the so called heatless leer in which the annealing is accomplished b the heat contained in the incoming ware. t is also important in the other type of leer in which additional heat is supplied, usually from a furnace adjacent to the receiving end, as the less heat lost througlrthe sides 'of 'the leer at they-hot portion, the less fuel isrequiredl Previous patents issued to theI-Iartford- Empire Company as assignee of Vergil Mulholland,-=namely No. 1,560,481 issued Nov. 3,- 1925,- and No, 1,622,663- issued March 29, 1927; show" leers having metallic tunnels spaced from outer metalhc casings the space being filled by pulverulent insulating material such as kieselguhr. In these leers, however, the spacing and-positioning of the tunnel with respect to-the casing is accomplished by a plurality of stud bolts such as are shown at 65 in Fig.8 of the first patentcited. Some such construction has heretofore been thought necessary as it was obviously impossible to support the heavy tunnel structure on the loosely packed kieselguhr.

We have found that more than half the heat loss through the sides of leers of the types abovereferredto-is due to conduction of heat through these studs; and that the loss through each of the half inch studs, such as are ordinarily used, is substantially equal to the loss through a square footof the cast iron side late which isfree from studs. The loss of heat through the floor plates and other parts connecting the tunnel and outer casing is even greater and is responsible for much of the heat loss from the leer.

While it is desirable to dissipate heat from some ortions of the leer to cool the ware, this issi ation must be delayed until the ware has een brought to the uniform high temperature necessary to release the stresses therein, and'thereafter the cooling must be relatively slow and definitely regulable. To 50 economically accomplish the desired results,

to restrict the dissipation of heat as muc as possible adjacent to the hot or entrance end of the leer.

An object of the invention is, therefore to minimize the heat loss through the tunnel sup ortm members and through the outer wal s of t e tunnel.

A second object of the invention is to support the tunnel of a leer so as to permit its movement with respect to the outer casin and to permit the outer casing to move wit respect to its sup ort to accommodate the varied expansion ue to-the differential heating-of these parts.

Otherobjects and advantages of the inventlon will' be apparent from a readin of the following specification and subjoined claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of a leer, embod in my invention taken substantially on t e line 1-1 in Fig. 2; and

ig. 2- is a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of-the leer substantially on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

' Reference character 1 indicates a pair of channel'bars on which the leer, generally indicated at 2, is supported through rollers 3 which are provided to permit of expansive movement of the leer with respect to the supports.

The leer comprises a'central longitudinal tunnel 4 which may have heating flues 5 it is necessarg formed in its bottom, and cooling flues 6 formed in its top. As shown the tunnel comprises a top section 7 bolted as at 8 to a bottom section 9, which may be integral as shown or formed in a plurality of arts. The ware may be conveyed through the tunnel in any approved manner. A metallic casing is adapted to surround and be spaced from the tunnel 4, and may comprise a bottom member 10, side members 11 and 12 and a to member-13, these members being of suitable metallic material such as sheet iron. The top, sides and bottom of the casing may be connected together in any suitable manner as, for example, b turning up flanges 14 of the sides and bolting them to the top and bottom respectively,

-heat insulating material such as insulatin 5 brick or similar matenal of suflicient strengt 20. The remainder of the spa'c between the to support the weight of the tunnel. The members 15 are received in suitable sockets fixed to the casing and tunnel respectively. These sockets preferably comprise pairs; of longitudinally extending flange members which may be integral with the contiguous metal member, such as is shown at 16, or may be made as a separate bracket bolted, or otherwise secured, to the contiguous metal member, as shown at 17 in the case of the bot tom sockets. The top section 7 of the tunnel may be similarly spaced from the top 13 of the casing by heat insulating members 18 seated in lower sockets 19 and upper sockets tunnel and the casing may be filled with loose substantially pulverulent heat insulating material 21 such as kieselguhr.

We show a leer made up of a plurality of interchangeable sections arranged 'end to end and having telescoping parts, as shown at 22 and 23 (Fig. 2) and being secured together by bolts 24 (Fig. 1) passing through flanges 25 integral with the sections, this construction providing for the use of more or less sections according to the type of ware to be annealed and other factors. During the operation of leers of this type, a considerable expansion occurs, chiefly in a longitudinal direction. As set forth in the first patent to Mulholland above referred to, the leer may be anchored at one end and slidable along the rails here shown at 1 to permit the expansion of the casing with respect to the support. Because of the higher temperature in the tunnel, it will expand to a greater degree than the casing which is insulated from the heat in the flues and means must be provided to permit this difl'erential expansion. In order to permit the outer casing, which expands relatively little, to move to a certain extent with the inner tunnel, we have provided the said outer casing with expansion joints such, for example, as is shown at 26 in Fig. 2 at the bottom of the casing, it being understood that similar expansion provision is made at the two sides 11 and 12 respectively. The top 13 of the outer casing may be constructed of separate and disconnected sections having ioints 27 which may be unconnected, as it is unnecessary to have a tight connection to retain the insulating material therein. The joints 27 are formed as shown merely by bending up the ends of the top members 13 to the form flanges 28, and these flanges may separate to the necessary extent upon expansion of the inner tunnel. However, different parts of a single section have a certain movement with respect to the casing and for this reason we have provided for a differential movement between the parts of the individu- 1 al sections and the casing. We form the sockets 16,17,19 and 20 with open ends in a longitudinal direction which permits their movement with respect to the'supporting or spacing members 15 and 18. It should be noted that the socket members 16 and 17 are longer than the supporting members 15 held therein, the same eing true of socket members 19 and 20 and the spacing members 18. This difference in length is designed to be greater than the expansive movement of the sections with respect to the casing due to any heat normally attainable in the leer, whereby the supportmg members are always positloned in their respective sockets irrespective of the relative movement between the supported tunnel section and the casing.

While we have shown and described but one means of accomplishing a complete heat insulation of a leer tunnel, it is obvious that many changes might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forth-in the appended claims, which are to be construed as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

We claim: I

1. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a metallic tunnel, a heating flue formed in the,bottom and a cooling flue formed in the top-of said tunnel, a metal casing surrounding but spaced from said tunnel, a plurality of sockets onthe outer surface of the top and bottom of the cooling and heating flues respectively, a corresponding set of sockets formed on the inside of the top and bottom walls of said casing, heat insulating bricks received in said sockets to space said tunnel from said casing in a vertical direction, and loose substantially pulverulent heat insulating material filling the rest of the space between said tunnel and said casing intermediate their ends.

2. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a metallic tunnel, a metallic casing, surrounding but spaced from said tunnel and heat insulating supporting members intermediate said tunnel and said casing arranged to permit their relative movement in a longitudinal direction due to their relatively different expansion when heated during the operation of the leer.

3. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a metallic tunnel, a metallic casing surrounding but spaced from said tunnel, and a plurality of heat insulating bricks serving as spacing members and movable with respect to one of said parts to permit of relative longitudinal movement of the parts due to their different expansion when heated during the normal operation of the leer.

4. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a metallic tunnel, a metallic casing surrounding but .spaced from said tunnel, a plurallty of pairs of opposing sockets in the space between said tunnel and said casing and adapted to receive heat insulating bricks to space said tunnel from said casing and support it in a predetermined position relative thereto, said sockets being so formed as to permit relative movement in a direction longitudinal of said tunnel, of the bricks and the metallic members to permit difi'erential expansive movement between said tunnel and said casing.

5. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a tunnel formed of a plurality of sections having telescoping end portions, a sheet metal casing surrounding but spaced from said sections, a plurality of pairs of socket members located respectively on the top and bottom of the tunnel sections and on the inside of the top and bottom of said casing, blocks of low heat conductivity positioned in said sockets-to support said tunnel sections and position them with respect to said casing, said sockets extending beyond the blocks in a direction longitudinal of said tunnel, to permit maintenance of the blocks in the sockets upon the differential movements of said tunnel sections and said casing, and loose heat insulating material filling the remainder of the space between said tunnel sections and said casing.

6. A leer for annealin glassware comprising a tunnel formed of a plurality of sections arranged end to end, a casing surrounding but spaced from said tunnel intermediate its ends, a support for said casing, nonmetallic heat insulating supporting members arranged within said casing to support said tunnel from said casing while permitting free differential expansion of said tunnel sections and said casing, and means to permit expansive movement of said casing on said support.

7. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a tunnel formed of a plurality of sections arranged end to end, a casing surrounding but spaced from said tunnel intermediate its ends, a support for said casing, non-metallic heat insulating supporting members arranged Within said casing to support said tunnel from said casing while permitting free differential expansion ofsaid tunnel sections and said casing, and a series of rollers between said casing and said support to permit expansive movement of said casing on said support.

8. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a tunnel formed of a plurality of sections arranged end to end, a casing surrounding but spaced from said tunnel intermediate its ends, a' support for said casing, a plurality of opposed sockets fixed to said tunnel and said casing respectively, heat insulating tunnel supporting members received in said sockets and movable relative thereto in a direction longitudinal of said tunnel, whereby to permit relative expansive movement between said tunnel sections and said casing, and means to permit expansive movement of said casing on said support.

9. A leer for annealing glassware comprising a tunnel formed of a plurality of sections arranged end to end, a casing surrounding but spaced from said tunnel intermediate its ends, a support for said casing, a plurality of opposed sockets fixed to said tunnel and said casing respectively, heat insulating supporting members received in said sockets and movable therein in a direction longitudinal of said tunnel, whereby to permit relative expansive movement between said tunnel sections and said casing, and a series of rollers between said casing and said support to permit expansive movement of said casing on said support.

10. A leer for annealing glassware, comprising a tunnel having a metallic lining, an outer metallic casing, means to support said casingat intervals along its length, heat insulating supporting means interposed between said lining and said casing, and means to provide for a relative expansive movement between said supporting means and one of said metallic parts.

11. A leer for annealing glassware, comprising a tunnel having a metallic lining, an outer metallic casing, means to support said casing at intervals along its length, heat insulating supporting means interposed between said lining and said casing, means to provide for a relative expansive movement etween said supporting means and one of said metallic parts, and loose heat insulating material filling the remainder of the space between said lining and said casing.

12. A leer for annealing glassware, comprising a tunnel having a metallic lining, an outer metallic casing, means to support said casing at intervals along its length, heat insulating supporting means extending the major portion of the distance between said lining and said casing, and metallic members extending the remainder of said distance and movable relatively to said heat insulating supporting means, whereby to provide for relative expansive movement of said lining and said casing.

Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 12th day of December, 1927.

HAROLD A.. WADMAN. ALAN W. RUSSELL. 

